Climbing And Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro

The first explorers to see Mount Kilimanjaro with the notion of a snow-capped so close to the equator

. It took the advent of photography and the first serious Kilimanjaro climbing expedition before the world fully believed of such a mountain.

Kilimanjaro means "the mountain with no end", a name given to the mystical mountain because every hiking kilimanjaro attempt to the summit had to return due to the unusually cold temperatures. The summit was finally reached by the Marangu army scout Yohanas Kinyala Lauwo, Dr Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller on October 6 1889.

The highest free-standing mountain in the world, "Kili" is also the highest mountain on the African continent and has three peaks: Uhuru at 5891m above sea level, Mawenzi (5149m) and Shira (3962m). Those climbing or hiking kilimanjaro take advantage of several different routes - Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho, Shira, Umbwe, Western breach and Machame.

So, what's in a route? A lot, it would seem. The Machame (Whiskey route) route , is the most scenic and although being between six and seven days long, largely gets you to the summit an hour earlier than most other routes. Rongai route is the easiest camping route and the Marangu (Coka Cola route) route is the easiest, but because accommodation on this route is in huts, it's a very busy route.

Climbing Kilimanjaro to the summit is one of the most rewarding challenges in Africa and is easily within the reach of most visitors. Valtee Daniel reached the summit at the age of 87, while Keats Boyd did it at age 7! Let Safari 365 arrange your climb, and guide you to the greatest high on the continent. We recommend the Machame route with an extra day to acclimatise at 4000m.

Please note that if you simply want to view Mount Kilimanjaro, these are best experienced from the Amboseli National Reserve in Kenya.

by:Marcus Brain

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